Saatchi & Saatchi Toronto ontwikkelde een leuke banner voor de lancering van de nieuwe Toyota Venza. Een gedeelte van de nieuwswebsite globeandmail.com werd overgenomen en de inhoud ervan werd aangepast aan de boodschap die men wou overbrengen.

Klik hier en zie hoe de Toyata Venza doorheen het scherm rijdt. Uiteindelijk parkeert de auto waar hij vertrokken was, bovenaan de pagina.

Globeandmail.com published this moralistic Call of Duty story.

Is this the answer to the violence question? Or does this further connect real violence with video game violence? In that case  could scenarios like this lead to more “real” violence as a result of video games? But on the other hand couldn’t this be seen as parenting taken to the next level–> not a fight or struggle but a compromise and a teaching moment.

And to bring this to the whole artistic element of a video game–> is this in essence limiting the full artistic experience the true artists of this game designed? Can’t this be seen as a new type of censorship, similar to the idea of watching R rated films altered for a PG audience? Then couldn’t this moralistic addendum be seen as an alteration or rather a limitation to the true artistic experience possible with this game work of art?

What’s this public think?

-huysmans

I don’t know what Dick Cheney is smoking but I WANTS ME SOME!!!

America’s evil overlord says no one saw saw the economic crisis coming and, oh yeah – nobody at the CIA has done anything wrong!

THAT IS SOME GOOD SHIT, Y’ALL!!!

Darth Cheney spun his fantastical web of lies to an Associated Press reporter who probably had to coerce the beastmaster sign some sort of legal document stating he promised not to – at any point during the interview – attempt to drain the blood from the reporter’s veins and drink it as an afternoon cocktail, quarter small children using chopsticks and piano wire or turn the reporter into a psycho robot killer with his demonic laser stare of doom.
::: LOOK AWAY!!!! :::

Once Ol’ Snarly scrawled his 666, the interview was on.
::: It’s the Fuzzy Logic History Hour with Uncle Dick – YAY!!! :::

He said there is no reason, no reason whaaaaatsoever for Dumbya to even give one little thought [like he's capable of another kind] to pre-emptively pardoning anyone at the CIA because it’s just a giant ball of CRAZY to think anyone there would have been involved in any of those way harsh interrogationny tactics the rest of the world affectionately calls torture. Nuh uh! Nosireee!!!

“I don’t have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal,” he monotoned while playfully tasering Agent 6 of his Secret Service detail.
::: MULTI-TASKER!!! :::

Dr. Doom went on to say that Shrub has no need, no need whaaaaatsoever  to apologize for not picking up on the globally evident signs of  the looming economic crisis leading to the New Great Depression … even though key business leaders and economists (… Nouriel Roubini anyone? anyone?) had been warning about them, pointing right at them and hanging neon signs directly over them for more than two ‘nuthin’ to see here, war war war, buy a Hummer, the fundamentals are strong’ years.

“I don’t think anybody saw it coming,” he said, bits of crestfallen taxpayer falling from his fangs.

Then he blah blah’d some caca about his  ‘retirement’ plans to write a book or some crapass crap and his desire kill fish in rivers all over the country, but the interview was called to a convulsively abrupt end when his batteries got wet from an unexpected splash of pig’s blood and fried all the circuits in his motherboard.

… I hate it when that happens …

SOURCE

The other day, I had a discussion with Nicole (my partner in crime) regarding her “Twitter as a news source” post. As our chat wore on, we eventually made our way to a comment she made about her exec friend’s desire to get PR within the printed pages of Canada’s most reputable national paper, The Globe and Mail.

Ultimately, our real life discussion was a real world reenactment of the benefits of social media and the way it can provide an open forum for people to share ideas and, as a natural by-product, disagree in real-time. Providing companies with the ability to hone and develop better products or ways of getting the public to believe in and promote their products (should said companies choose to listen and act appropriately).

Our conversation was fast and furious: Nicole roaring out of her “Give me Social Media or Give me Death” corner; me throwing punches to “Protect the Right to Print”.

Nicole raised the point that PC magazine is dropping their print format. My response: it’s relatively safe to assume that the majority of PC readers are likely to be computer literate. So why not go the extra step, cut out the middleman (aka print publication) and let your already web happy readership get their news straight from the source?

After a flurry of ducks and jabs—not to mention more than a little fancy footwork—we exploded into the centre of the ring. Face to face, “wo-mano a wo-mano”, fists began to fly over the final topic: why her friend seemed insistent on print PR in The Globe, instead of hitting the Internet.

Nicole’s right-to-the-point uppercut: free publicity. Twitter PR galore. Global audience!

My 1-2 punch: Sure. I don’t disagree with any of these points. I think they’re all part of a legitimate, potentially successful approach. However, despite the fact that many social media-aholics believe that print is quickly going the way of the dinosaur, the reality is that social media only works if your key demographic uses it. And in the case of The Globe, yes: they’ve clearly been working hard to attract new blood in the form of “intellectually curious” women and men ages 25-54 with the launch of their LifeStyle section two years ago and their increasing development of social tools and web-friendly content on globandmail.com. But the fact is that a good part of their demographic still lies with the elder statesmen of their fan base—the 50+ crowd. This is a predominantly male group who are already successful in their areas of expertise and (to some extent) probably don’t feel it necessary to get involved in social media such as “Twitter” or “Facebook”. Men who are of an era that still regards computers with deep suspicion—considering them a barely necessary evil only to be used when absolutely necessary. Men who just don’t have the time, or simply refuse to see the benefit in making new friends and/or contacts online (they’ve already developed a large cadre of their own well-heeled cronies over their illustrious careers, thank you very much). Or, more simply, they may just be lovers of the printed word who happen to enjoy sitting back and reading the paper in the morning…going through and sorting out their favourite sections as they make “enlightenment” a part of their daily routine.

Finally, after a long, brutal match, I met Nicole’s bleary gaze and delivered a devastating KO punch: certainly, The Globe is doing a wise thing in nurturing a new breed of readers to supplement (and replace) the old. But they can’t completely disrespect or disregard those avid black ink on paper supporters who have helped them—and continue to help them—grow and maintain their prestigious title as Canada’s most read National newspaper. Therefore, print media (in this instance) is still alive and well and is still a legitimate way for your friend to get the PR they crave.

And “Give me Death or Give Social Media“ is down for the count. The crowd roars as I successfully “Protect the Right to Print” while still agreeing with Nicole’s defense of all that Tweets!

So you see, the reality is that print may fade away. Papers may die; magazines may disappear. But somehow, I doubt that. I think that somewhere, there will always be those who desire to have the word in print. People who are fans of having something tangible that they can hold, feel and experience with all their senses. And I plan to be counted among those few, those happy few, this band of brothers and sisters…who happen to love the smell of newsprint in the morning.

Torn between two lovers,

Margaret.

To read more about whether print is dead, check out this article from Mediabistro.com.

POLICE TURNING TO RCMP IN B.C. FOR HELP

(August 1)  A human foot encased in a sock and size 10 Reebok sandal was found washed-up on a Lake Huron (Michigan) beach this week.  Investigators already have a few missing persons cases that may, ultimately, help solve the mystery.

One of those cases, according to the globeandmail.com, concerns the “mysterious” drowning of a Detroit lawyer in August 2005.

Still, investigators are not ruling-out the possibility that the Michigan case is connected to the “mystery feet” that have washed ashore in British Columbia:

The Michigan foot joins five detached feet that have washed up in B.C. in the past year, sparking a police and forensic investigation and heated speculation as to their origins. Two of the feet belong to the same person, and a third belonged to a man who went missing from the Lower Mainland a few years ago.

“I’m not going to discount any possibilities at this point,” Det. Sgt. Harshberger said, “including that this has something to do with what’s happened up there in Canada. … We’ll certainly be looking to investigators there for some guidance on this one.”

The most likely source of the foot, he said, is Charles (Chuck) Rutherford, 35, who is presumed dead along with his girlfriend, Lana Ann Stempien, also 35. The couple reportedly drowned on a boat trip that started in Belle River, Ont., a lake community near Windsor, in August, 2005. -globeandmail.com

The Lake Huron foot has been taken to a Michigan State Police Crime Lab.  The foot’s DNA is expected to be compared to the DNA profiles of missing persons and unidentified bodies.

*To read the Beyond90Seconds.com archives concerning the B.C. mystery feet, please click here.

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(Update, July 9, 1:30pm PST): Breaking News: Police to hold news conference about human feet mystery

(Update, June 28, 8:59am PST):  “Pig video lends insight into B.C.’s human feet mystery”

Update:  NEWS CONFERENCE DELAYED

(June 26, 2:23am PST):  “Police delay update on feet mystery” -Seattle Times

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has delayed a news conference on the case of the five feet that have washed ashore along the Strait of Georgia over the past year.

The RCMP had planned to update the public this week but has now decided to hold off until more of the investigation is complete, said Constable Annie Linteau, the agency’s spokeswoman. -Seattle Times

(June 23) It’s already happened five times in less than a year: a human foot found washed-up on a beach or floating in the waters within British Columbia’s Strait of Georgia.

One week ago, a foot was found inside a sneaker floating near Westham Island in the mouth of the Fraser River.

It was a left foot.

Four prior discoveries, dating back to August 2007, were all right feet.

It’s a story that appears in today’s Seattle Times.

So far, investigators have not been able to link any of the feet to people who’ve been reported missing.

British Columbia’s chief coroner says that–so far–there is no evidence of foul play.

Despite a tight-lipped stance from police, the case is now netting media attention from around the world.

Of course, theories are emerging from people trying to solve the mystery.  One theory is that the feet drifted across the Pacific Ocean after tsunamis or storms in Asia.

Others speculate that the feet are from people who’ve drowned or disappeared in the strait.

Another theory is that the feet are the result of a sick prank performed by someone who has access to cadavers.

And, yes, some people wonder if this is the work of a serial killer.

According to the Seattle Times, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is expected to hold a news conference about the case this week.  Although, the paper reports, it’s quite possible that the news conference won’t produce much new information.

-subsequent news coverage:

(June 24): “Cold Feet: A bizarre mystery baffles British Columbia” -newsweek.com

The macabre discoveries have attracted armchair investigators from around the globe and inspired a couple of twisted pranksters. An anonymous posting on Craigslist last week urged readers to “have some fun” and “take a raw turkey drumstick, tie it inside one of your old running shoes and throw it in the ocean late at night when no one can see, or drop it off the ferry from the car deck. Then watch the news.” A sixth foot, found at Campbell River on June 19, turned out to be an animal appendage wrapped in seaweed and crammed into a shoe-seemingly a sick joke on the cops and local citizens, who are gobbling up any details about the story they can find. -newsweek.com

(June 24): “Feet theories abound, while 28 men are missing” -globeandmail.com

We’re likely to get fresh news this week about the feet. At least, so says RCMP Constable Annie Linteau, the poor soul responsible for dealing with the monsoon of media calls from around the world about the feet-stuffed shoes washing up on our shores.

Actually, Ms. Linteau sounds a little star-struck by some of the calls she’s been getting. The king of talk, CNN’s Larry King, wanted her on his show to chat about the story. So did Mr. King’s CNN colleague, Nancy Grace. Constable Linteau graciously declined the invitations.

Jay Leno may be harder to turn down.  -globeandmail.com

-prior news coverage:

( June 21, 2008 ) “B.C. floats endless foot theories” -thestar.com (Toronto)

Eric Kunze, who conducts research into ocean physics at the University of Victoria, said it would be impossible for the feet to have travelled from Asia to the coast of British Columbia.

“If feet were coming through from there, we would have thousands of feet coming onto the shores of B.C.,” he said. “From an oceanographic standpoint, all we can really say at this point is they originated somewhere from the Strait of Georgia.” -thestar.com

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According to a study reported on in the globeandmail.com, children hate clowns. Even older ones. It found that:

“clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable.”

I think this may be an exaggeration, but I think there is alot more too it than adults realize. Perhaps a few generations from now, people will look back and think: wow! There were clowns back then!

The globeandmail.com has an article on the rise of Twitter. Well, they call it micro-blogging . Like anything in MSM, they get things wrong. But it is still interesting. See: enter the micro-bloggers

With the cost of gas being what it is, scooters start to make more and more sense. For more on scooters in Canada, see the article in globeandmail.com: Are you cool enough?

Years ago, the Globe and Mail seem to take on a large number of columnists, likely to compete with The National Post. Over time, many of those columnists dropped off the paper. One who did not was Leah McLaren.

I have a love/hate relationship with her column. I read it every week, even when it is annoying. Perhaps it is her (professional?) self-obsession. Whatever.

Speaking of that, her latest column in globeandmail.com: At the end of the day, you are what you say. Totally
is one I found very funny. A nice, condensed summary of the banal cliches we use during the week and on the weekend.

Hmmm….banal….cliches….it makes sense now.

The globeandmail.com

has a great column on the effects social networking site, Facebook, is having on family dynamics. It will be interesting to see FB transform from a college dorm party to a family wedding.

Here’s the article:

Facebook: watching the watchers